Racing Kings

No checks, ever. All the pieces start on the first two ranks, there are no pawns, and no move may give check by either side at any time. The first king to reach the eighth rank wins, though Black gets one final move if White arrives first. You cannot attack, so you block, race and count.

Start a free game of Racing Kings in the browser while you read; no sign-up.

The rules

All pieces start on the first two ranks and there are no pawns. No move may give check, not by either side, at any time. The first king to reach the eighth rank wins, except that if White arrives, Black gets one final move; if Black also reaches the eighth, the game is a draw.

Why it is worth playing

Racing Kings is chess with the fighting removed and pure calculation left behind. You cannot check, so you cannot attack in the normal sense. You can only block, and race, and count.

Four plans that win games

Count the race every single move

This is not a metaphor. Work out how many moves each king needs and whether anything can stop them. If you are behind, you must block rather than race.

Blockade with pieces that cannot be moved by a check

Since checks are illegal, a well-placed blocker is completely safe from harassment. That makes blockades much stronger here than anywhere else.

Use your rooks to control ranks

A rook covering the seventh rank stops a king dead, and the opponent cannot check it away.

Remember White does not win on tempo

If White reaches the eighth first, Black gets one more move. Plan for a draw if you are White and only just ahead.

Mistakes that lose games

What it teaches you about standard chess

Counting instead of feeling

There is no attacking intuition to fall back on here. Every decision is arithmetic: how many moves, who arrives first, what blocks. Players who play by feel find this uncomfortable and improve fastest from it.

Racing Kings does what every good variant does: it removes part of chess so that what is left gets your full attention, and the habit comes back with you to the standard game. The full argument, and which variant trains what, is in the coach's guide to variants.

Who it suits

Puzzle solvers and calculation trainers. Racing Kings is the variant most like a chess problem.

You can play it right now on any device, in a browser, against a full engine, with no download and no account. If you have never tried a variant before, give it three games rather than one: the first is spent learning the rules, and the second is where it starts being chess.

Common questions

What are the rules of Racing Kings?

All pieces start on the first two ranks and there are no pawns. No move may give check, not by either side, at any time. The first king to reach the eighth rank wins, except that if White arrives, Black gets one final move; if Black also reaches the eighth, the game is a draw.

Is Racing Kings hard to learn?

The rules take about two minutes. Puzzle solvers and calculation trainers. Racing Kings is the variant most like a chess problem.

What is the best strategy in Racing Kings?

Count the race every single move. This is not a metaphor. Work out how many moves each king needs and whether anything can stop them. If you are behind, you must block rather than race.

Where can I play Racing Kings free?

Grandmaster Gains has Racing Kings playable in the browser against a full engine, free and with no sign-up, alongside nineteen other variants.

Will playing Racing Kings improve my normal chess?

Counting instead of feeling. There is no attacking intuition to fall back on here. Every decision is arithmetic: how many moves, who arrives first, what blocks. Players who play by feel find this uncomfortable and improve fastest from it.

What is the biggest mistake beginners make in Racing Kings?

Illegal moves are easy to miss. Any move giving check is simply not allowed. The board will refuse it, but building a plan around one wastes several moves.

More variants

• Antichess (Losing Chess): Capturing is compulsory and losing all your pieces wins the game.
• Really Bad Chess: Randomised armies: you might get three queens, your opponent might get five knights.
• No-Castling Chess: Everything is standard except castling is illegal. Proposed by Vladimir Kramnik.
• Pawn Battle: Pawns and kings only. First to promote wins.